Decoding dementia

Updated 7:28 am, Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Licensed vocational nurse Chela Brown participates in the Virtual Dementia Tour at Morningside Ministries. “It was different not to do what I normally do with ease,” Brown said.

Licensed vocational nurse Chela Brown participates in the Virtual Dementia Tour at Morningside Ministries. “It was different not to do what I normally do with ease,” Brown said.

Photo: Helen L. Montoya / San Antonio Express-News

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Chela Brown, participates in the Virtual Dementia Tour, which offers a glimpse through the eyes of senior suffering from dementia or short-term memory loss. Morningside Ministries offers the experience to caregivers of residents and answers to questions about the condition. less

Chela Brown, participates in the Virtual Dementia Tour, which offers a glimpse through the eyes of senior suffering from dementia or short-term memory loss. Morningside Ministries offers the experience to ... more

Photo: San Antonio Express-News

Decoding dementia

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Recently, Chela Brown entered the blurry, clumsy and faded world of many of the residents she cares for at Morningside Ministries retirement community.

First, the licensed vocational nurse was clad in attire that limited her movement. She wore plastic gloves with lentil beans stuffed in the fingertips to re-create numbness. Fingers on both her hands were taped together to restrict dexterity. And she wore goggles with faded lenses and obstructions to simulate vision loss due to macular degeneration.

Next she was led into a room at Morningside Manor, a continuing care retirement community, where the only light flickered from a strobe lamp. A fuzzy voice blared from a desk radio as if transmitted through a sandstorm. As she tried to complete simple tasks, such as folding clothes and setting a table, she felt anxious, just as people who suffer from dementia feel each day.

“It was different not to do what I normally do with ease,” Brown said. Studies show that 4 to 5 million people in the United States have some degree of dementia. The condition can result in a decline in awareness of surroundings, numbers, language and problem solving.

For the past several years, Morningside Ministries has offered caregivers, staff members, residents' relatives and the public a glimpse of what it's like to live with dementia or short-term memory loss through its Virtual Dementia Tour. The free program is part of the nonprofit's mmLearn.org website, which offers free interactive and online video training and support to caregivers and the public.

The faith-based organization sponsors the tour once a year at its three senior living communities in the area, according to community outreach director, Virginia R. Valenzuela. She said the experience helps visitors empathize with those suffering from the condition.

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“These are things associated with normal aging,” Valenzuela said. “Now, add dementia and see how that can be devastating. It's still pretty taboo; people feel uncomfortable talking about it and having some form of dementia; It's getting better, but there's still a stigma attached to it.”

The dementia kit is the brainchild of P.K. Beville of Second Wind Dreams in Marietta, Ga. Beville, a geriatric specialist, developed the kit to increase the sensitivity of those caring for family members with dementia.

Morningside Ministries spokesman Connor Ortiz said a positive takeaway from the experience is the ability to educate staff members and provide them with knowledge that will benefit residents.

“Hopefully, the idea is they take this and provide better care,” Ortiz said. “And become better humanitarians.”

Helen Flores, director of community relations at Caring Companions, which provides in-home senior care, went through training for the program eight years ago. Since then, she's brought the tour to nursing homes, assisted living facilities and churches across the city. Flores said as more people take the tour, “they'll understand the plight” of people with dementia.

She said the kit has allowed not only direct-care staff to have first-hand experience, but also the administration of these facilities to see that some caregivers didn't have the tools needed to do their job.

According to the Second Wind Dreams website, 500,000 people around the world have experienced the tour that calls for participants to complete otherwise simple tasks, such as pouring a glass of water and writing a letter. After completing the tour, participants are debriefed by certified trainers to gauge their feelings about their experience.

During a recent debriefing, Valenzuela, one of six trainers at Morningside, talked to caregivers, Brown and Al Phuong Nguyen and housekeeper, Sylvia Arias, about their experience.

“It makes you understand why people with dementia are so frustrated,” said Nguyen, whose mother suffers from dementia. “When they trust you, it's easier to work with them.”

Arias said she now has a better understanding of what some residents go through.

Brown said she learned the importance of having patience when residents may get upset.

“You're only in there 6 minutes; imagine someone living with that 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” Valenzuela said. “Dementia knows no bounds; it doesn't matter if you're young or old, rich or poor.”

For more information about the next Virtual Dementia Tour hosted by Morningside Ministries, call 210-734-1070.